hypokalemia alcohol

We aimed to investigate clinical and laboratory characteristics of acute alcohol intoxication (AAI) in adolescents who presented to the pediatric emergency department (ED) at a tertiary referral center from 2006 to 2019. All consecutive adolescents with AAI (n = 335) and their sex- and age-matched control subjects (n = 335) with undetectable ethanol levels were included in this case-matched study. Mean serum ethanol level was 156.4 ± 58.4 (range: 50.8-341.2) mg/dL in the acute alcohol intoxication (AAI) group...

Hyponatremia is a common electrolyte disorder requiring careful management to prevent severe complications. Osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS) is a serious neurological disorder that can develop from rapid correction of hyponatremia. Herein, is a description of the case of a 61-year-old man with multiple risk factors, including alcoholism, hypokalemia, malnutrition, and alcoholic liver cirrhosis, who developed ODS despite adherence to the recommended correction rate for hyponatremia. The patient presented to the emergency department with generalized weakness, gait disturbance, and decreased muscle strength...

We present a case of a 49-year-old man with a past medical history of uncontrolled hypertension and alcohol use disorder presently in sustained remission who presented to the ED with shortness of breath. He was admitted for the management of hypertensive emergency and hypokalemia and was later found to have primary aldosteronism complicated by heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. The patient's treatment-resistant hypertension as well as hypokalemia, which was refractory to repletion, resolved with mineralocorticoid-receptor-antagonist pharmacotherapy...

Distinguishing between Cushing syndrome (CS) and pseudo Cushing syndrome (PCS), also known as physiological hypercortisolism, can be difficult. PCS is caused by nonneoplastic overactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and may be secondary to a range of conditions, including obesity, physical stress, malnutrition, and chronic alcoholism, and typically results in a lesser degree of hypercortisolism and fewer clinical features than CS. Management of PCS includes treatment of the underlying cause and reassessment of hypercortisolemia following improvement in the underlying etiology, as this may result in normalization of cortisol levels...

Osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS) is an acute demyelinating disorder characterized by the loss of myelin in the center of the basis pons, defined as central pontine myelinolysis (CPM), and demyelination in locations outside the pons, defined as extrapontine myelinolysis (EPM). ODS including CPM and EPM is mainly caused by rapid correction of hyponatremia. However, there are several reports of ODS in medical conditions such as malnutrition; alcoholism; liver transplantation; malignancy; sepsis; and electrolyte imbalance including hypernatremia, hypokalemia, hypophosphatemia, and chronic illness...

AUDIENCE: Emergency medicine (EM) residents (1st year and 2nd year levels), 4th year medical students and advanced practice providers. INTRODUCTION: Alcohol use has played a major role in causing significant morbidity and mortality for patients. In 2016, it was the 7th leading risk factor for deaths and disability-adjusted life years globally.1 Among heavy alcohol users admitted for hospital management, the incidence of alcohol withdrawal syndrome is estimated to be 1...

Marchiafava-Bignami disease (MBD) is a rare neurological disorder characterized by demyelination and necrosis of the corpus callosum. The non-specific signs and symptoms associated with MBD including dysarthria, impaired walking, pyramidal signs, primitive reflexes, seizures, incontinence, sensory symptoms, gaze palsies, and altered mental state result in a challenging diagnosis. Here, we report the case of a 64-year-old female presenting with dizziness, gait ataxia, and a history of recurrent falls for several months...

BACKGROUND: Rapid correction of hyponatremia, especially when severe and chronic, can result in osmotic demyelination. The latest guideline for diagnosis and treatment of hyponatremia (2014) recommends a correction limit of 10 mEq/L/day. Our aim was to summarize published cases of osmotic demyelination to assess the adequacy of this recommendation. METHOD: Systematic review of case reports of osmotic demyelination. We included cases confirmed by imaging or pathology exam, in people over 18 years of age, published between 1997 and 2019, in English or Portuguese...

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of alcoholic ketoacidosis (AKA) has traditionally been made based only on clinical history and the presence of severe metabolic acidosis with a high anion gap (AG); however, the concentration of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BOHB), a pivotal ketone body in AKA, is not evaluated in most cases. The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical spectrum of AKA in terms of the severity of ketoacidosis by using a point-of-care capillary BOHB measurement device. METHODS: This retrospective case series was conducted at a Japanese private teaching hospital...

BACKGROUND: Thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis (THPP) is a rare complication of hyperthyroidism characterized by thyrotoxicosis, hypokalemia, and paralysis. It is the most common form of acquired periodic paralysis. THPP is precipitated by strenuous exercise, a high carbohydrate diet, stress, infection, alcohol, albuterol, and corticosteroid therapy. It is most common in Asian men with hyperthyroidism and exceptionally rare in black people. CASE PRESENTATION: A 29-year-old man was admitted to the emergency department in Somalia with a sudden onset of paralysis after a high carbohydrate meal...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Micronutrient deficiencies such as pellagra are rarely seen after bariatric surgery and can be challenging to diagnose and manage. Alcohol use can precipitate nutritional deficiencies. CASE REPORT: A 51-year-old woman with a history of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery who later developed an alcohol-use disorder after her diagnosis of breast cancer. She experienced a subacute decline in her physical and cognitive function along with a rash after radiation treatment for breast cancer, lower extremity pain and weakness, anemia, and diarrhea with severe hypokalemia...

Electrolyte disorders in alcohol-dependent patients can be due to a multitude of reasons. We discuss a patient with diabetes mellitus, seizure disorder, and alcoholism who presented with seizure episodes and vomiting following a binge alcohol intake. The evaluation showed life-threatening metabolic derangements that included hyponatremia, hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, hypocalcemia, hypochloremia, hypophosphatemia with elevated blood glucose, and metabolic alkalosis with a normal anion gap. Subsequently, a detailed urinary analysis revealed a urinary loss of electrolytes...

Ondansetron is a commonly used antiemetic in the emergency department despite a 2011 FDA warning regarding dose-related QTc prolongation and torsades des pointes (TdP). Cases of TdP from small ondansetron doses administered in the emergency department are lacking. A 41-year-old-woman with alcohol use disorder on no medications or supplements presented to an emergency department with one day of nausea, vomiting, and epigastric pain. Examination revealed a pulse of 77 beats/min and epigastric tenderness. The patient received 4 mg IV ondansetron, 30 mg IV ketorolac, and was placed on cardiac monitoring...

BACKGROUND: Hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HPP) is a rare channelopathy characterized by episodic attacks of acute muscle weakness concomitant with hypokalemia. The etiology of hypokalemia is the shift of potassium into the cells, and the clinical symptoms resolve when potassium starts to leak back to the serum. Most of the time, the underlying ion channel defects are well compensated, and an additional trigger is often required to initiate an attack. Well-known trigger factors include carbohydrate-rich meals, exercise followed by rest, stress, cold weather, and alcohol consumption...

Renal tubular acidosis (RTA) refers to a group of disorders in which the elimination of hydrogen ions from the kidney or the reabsorption of filtered bicarbonate is impaired, resulting in metabolic acidosis. Hypokalemia is also prominent in different types of RTA. We are presenting an interesting case about a chronic alcoholic patient who presented to the emergency department and was found to be severely hypokalemic. During her hospital stay, she had multiple cardiac arrests likely secondary to her hypokalemia despite adequate treatment with potassium supplementation...

INTRODUCTION: Hypomagnesemia (hypoMg) has not yet been extensively studied in alcohol use disorder (AUD) . We hypothesize that chronic, excessive alcohol consumption favors oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory alterations that may be exacerbated by hypoMg. The objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence and associations of hypoMg in AUD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study in patients admitted for a first treatment of AUD in six tertiary centers between 2013 and 2020...

We present a case of a 29-year-old male who presented with thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) precipitated by acute alcohol intoxication. TPP is an endocrine emergency that presents with an episode of acute flaccid paralysis with hypokalemia in the setting of thyrotoxicosis. Individuals who present with TPP are thought to have an underlying genetic predisposition. Overactivation of the Na+ /K+ ATPase channel leads to large-scale intracellular shifts in potassium, leading to low serum levels and the clinical manifestations of TPP...

Theophylline is a bronchodilator with a narrow therapeutic index. Theophylline toxicity can manifest as metabolic acidosis, hypokalemia, arrhythmia, and other life-threatening symptoms. A 90-year-old Asian woman with a 10-day history of hyporexia presented to the emergency room with shortness of breath and low SpO2 . Diagnostic tests revealed ketosis, metabolic acidosis, hypokalemia, and hypercalcemia. Diabetic ketoacidosis and alcoholic ketoacidosis were ruled out based on the patient's history and laboratory parameters...

INTRODUCTION: The most common surgical emergency in general surgery is perforation peritonitis. It is a serious condition with a mortality rate of up to 20%, and it is the third most common cause of surgical abdomen after appendicitis and intestinal obstruction. The aim of this study to discuss clinical profile and management of perforation peritonitis in a hospital in central Nepal. METHODS: This prospective study was done for one year at Bharatpur Hospital, Chitwan Nepal...

BACKGROUND: Hypokalemia is a common disorder that can negatively affect organ function. Magnesium supplementation is frequently recommended despite limited evidence to support its use. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical effects of magnesium coadministration in patients treated for hypokalemia in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This retrospective, single-center study evaluated adults treated with intravenous (i...